Merchandising

November 2007
Fan the Fire Pit Flame

There's such an appeal to going camping: sitting around a campfire, talking, cooking and enjoying the company of friends. However, with today's increasingly busy schedules, it's unlikely that your customers will have the time to... more »

November 2007
Interiorscaping: Using Living Décor in the Off-Season

As the outdoor gardening season slowly winds down, your customers may think they have to hang up their trowels and pruning shears until next spring. Not so. Show your loyal green thumbs a way to... more »

August 2007
Catering to your Christmas Consumer

With the growth of mass retailers and chain stores, the competition for Christmas merchandise dollars can seem daunting for an independent garden center (IGC). Although there has been a bit of a downward trend in... more »

August 2007
Creating An Animated Christmas Fantasyland

Every retailer faces fierce competition in today's Christmas marketplace. Christmas merchandise is now sold through every imaginable outlet. Whether it's drug store chains, home improvement stores or even the local supermarket, everyone wants a piece... more »

August 2007
Visualizing Christmas

Visual merchandising gets a great deal of attention during the Christmas season, a period in which stores claim to make 50 percent of their sales and 75 percent of their profit. Merchandise and decorating plans... more »

August 2007
Are Your Restrooms Working For You?

Space is precious for garden centers. The more products and displays customers see, the more likely they will be to make purchases, which means every available store space needs to be used. While it may... more »

August 2007
It’s the Time of the Season

Summertime in this industry is one of my favorite times of year because it is garden center tour time. This year, the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and Garden Centers of America (GCA) once... more »

August 2007
The Impact Of Display Structures On Consumer Purchasing Behavior

You want consumers in your store. A new study on how consumers make their gardening purchases from display structures might help you find new ways to increase sales. Over the past five years, Florida retail... more »

August 2007
Merchandiser Of The Year Finalist – Village Green Home & Garden

When I walked into Village Green Home & Garden, Rockford, Ill., for the first time last November, I was amazed. The store was beautifully decorated with many inventive displays, wonderful design ideas and great color... more »

June 2007
How Do Our Customers Behave?

Do we really know our customers? Retailing today is becoming more and more of a science. Consultants monitor shoppers from the point they enter a stores until they leave, noting and analyzing every action. There... more »

June 2007
Making An Old Garden Center New

Rocks weighed down the first floral arrangement that left H.J. Benken Florist in 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The flowers came from my grandparents' greenhouse and beds. The rocks did, too. Harry and Johanna Benken, second-generation... more »

June 2007
Boost Sales With Live Creatures

There's something mesmerizing about sitting next to a pond full of fish and watching them glide effortlessly through the water or seeing a turtle sitting lazily on a piece of wood just soaking up the... more »